Wicked Problems Plaza - EDGE KIT...Wicked Problems are •Unique •Differently understood...
Transcript of Wicked Problems Plaza - EDGE KIT...Wicked Problems are •Unique •Differently understood...
Wicked ProblemsPlaza
Education guide on WPP E-wasteDeveloped by
Partnerships Resource Centre, EcoCampus and
Catapa
Program of today• 09.00 -09.30 Introduction• 9.30- 10.00 Interest Space• 10.00- 10.45 Equity Space + coffeebreak• 10.45 -11.30 Efficiency space • 11.30-12.00 Questions and closing
Aim of today: • Experience a multi-stakeholder dialogue• Get a sense of the wickedness of the problem• We will NOT find the solution
Wicked?
• Malignant, irritating, annoying
• Hard to define
• Not alone
• Diversity
• a.o. Rittel and Webber, 1973; partnerships literature
Video: Wicked problems
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sQ9_98z9X0
Wicked Problems are
• Symptomatic
• Interrelated
• Continuous
• Without optimal solutions
• Associated with denial
(Rittel and Webber, 1973)
Wicked Problems are
• Unique
• Differently understood
• Without an ultimate test of a solution
• Met with approaches, but not solutions
• Characterized by diverse responsibilities
(Rittel and Webber, 1973)
Simple Complex Wicked
EASY TO SOLVE RESISTS SOLVING RESISTS DEFINING
Clear problem with a clear solution
The problem and solution are not clear
but can be understood with time
Problem and solution not understood and
keep shifting when we try to define them
When the answer/solution is
known
When a problem is (relatively) well defined
When breakthroughthinking is needed
Single loop learning Double loop learning Triple loop learning
technical organizational societal
Source: based on mofox.com; Wadell; Van Tulder
Why are wicked problems so hard to solve?
• Because of…• (1) Incomplete or contradicting information • (2) A large diversity of opinions and possible solutions that
obstructs the achievement of any definite strategy• (3) Stakeholders that are not fully engaged and have unequal or
incongruent desires and stakes• (4) suggested solutions that are too simple, too technical or too
naïve. Those solutions can even worsen the problem. • (5) limited financial sustainability and scalability for the solution.
(PrC, Wicked Problems Plaza: principles and practices of effective multi-stakeholder dialogue (2016))
Examples of Wicked Problemsaddressed in WPP sessions
• Plastic Waste
• Living Wage
• Market for the poor
• Circular economy
• River water contamination
• Boat refugees
• Returning combatants
• Conflict minerals
• Poverty in the Hague
• Obesity
• Food security
• Tax Evasion
• Drink water
• Sustainability in education
• Future (un)employment
Plastic Waste in NepalIs plastic always problematic?
Waste and not cleaning
There are many technical solutions
There are too many NGOs addressing this problem
Creating ownership for waste
The problem is systemic
Idiotic idea: splitting up the Baghmati river
Spin-off: mayor of Kathmandu invited Plastic Soup foundation and other participants to help clean plastic after the earth quake
What is the WPP?
• Multi-stakeholder dialogue
• Journey of four spaces:
head, heart, hands and collaboration
• Getting new insights on the wicked problem and resolutions from many perspectives
The Wicked Problems Plaza
• Interest space: getting stakeholders together the whole system in the room
sharing personal stories, dilemmas andconflicting interests
• Equity space: connecting to the heart,
creating a sense of ownership for a solution
Reaching out to a collective vision
The Wicked Problems Plaza
• Efficiency space:
Brainstorming ‘idiotic ideas’, Brilliant failures
But also thinking about feasibility
• Partnering space:
How could solutions work?
What and who do we need?
Collective vision based negotiation
Wicked problem of today
• Smartphones: weak by design?
• Natural resources in your phone
• Conflict minerals and landgrabbing in Congo
• Long and non-transparent value chain
• The power of the consumer?
• What to do when your phone is broken?
• E-waste -> back to Africa?
4 solutions?
Repairing
Recycling
Leasing
Fairphone Will these solutions really avoid e-waste in the future?
Stakeholders involved
“getting the system in the room”
State: public goods/values
Non-profit
Market: private goods/values
For profit
Communities: social goods/values
Non-profit
Are all stakeholders (re)presented?
Example: river basin management
State: public goods/values
Non-profit
Market: private goods/values
For profit
Communities: social goods/values
Non-profit
Common GoodsCommon Bads
Tragedy of the Commons
WickedProblems are
usually in the middle
State: public goods/values
Market: private goods/values
Communities: social goods/values
1
2
3
4
23
4
2
3
4
Every step closer to 1 is getting closer to a
solution for the wickedproblem.
What to expect today
• Experience a multi-stakeholder dialogue
• Get a sense of the wickedness of the problem
• We will NOT find the solution
• Fair play: we will not ridicule each other
• Anonymity: no naming and shaming
• Listen carefully to others
Interest Space
Equity Space
Efficiency Space
How to proceed?
Reflection and questions